The Great Brain Robbery
"The Great Brain Robbery" is the eighth episode of the third season of . Plot Lex Luthor, after trying repeatedly to resurrect Brainiac from his remaining fragment, realizes that Grodd must be blocking his access in some way. When Grodd refuses to talk, Luthor determines to force his way into Grodd’s mind. At the same time, Dr. Fate proposes that he try to locate Grodd by tracing the psychic residue left when Flash was under his mind control. , "The Brave and the Bold" The two processes are started at the same time, and Luthor and Flash’s brains are accidentally switched. Luthor (as Flash) immediately runs amok in the Watchtower, looking for a way to escape, and thinking of several new and destructive uses for Flash’s powers. Flash (as Luthor) has to bluff his way through leadership of the Legion of Doom, especially while other members are becoming suspicious. He confronts Grodd, who has figured out what happened, but says he’s not going to tell – instead, he’s going to enjoy waiting until Flash gives himself away. Luckily, Luthor had already explained his latest plan to “the crew,” so Flash doesn’t have to reveal his ignorance. The plan is to steal a shipment of Euros from Kasnia. Flash goes along on the heist, but Luthor, in the Watchtower, telephones the Legion and reveals the truth. The Legion seizes Flash, while Luthor diverts the pursuing League members to another part of the Watchtower, then speeds onto the teleport pad. Mr. Terrific shuts off the artificial gravity. Luthor floats off the pad, but uses Flash’s speed to propel himself down – at which Mr. Terrific turns the gravity back on, and Luthor hurtles into the floor, knocking himself out. Dr. Fate reverses the mind switch, and Flash returns to his body. At the Legion’s headquarters, Luthor is being held prisoner. Some of them aren’t sure he’s really been changed back, while Dr. Polaris announces that he doesn’t care, he’s taking over the Legion anyway. He prepares to kill Luthor, but Luthor merely touches a control on his belt, turning Polaris’s power back on himself, and also releasing Luthor from his bonds. He explains that, in augmenting the abilities of all Legion members, he’s also given himself the power to override them. He’s still in charge. Tala, who was getting to like the “new” Luthor, is disappointed. Continuity * As Dr. Fate is attempting to access Flash's mind, Flash remarks he'd be more comfortable with J'onn performing this operation. Lantern remarks that even Batman has lost track of Jonn since he left to join humanity. , "To Another Shore" J'onn does not return until later. "Destroyer" Background Information Trivia The title is a pun on "The Great Train Robbery," which could refer either to: *The 1975 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, loosely based on the Great Gold Robbery of 1855 *The Great Train Robbery of 1963 **As a tribute, the episode also features a train robbery, as the Legion of Doom hijacks the train carrying the money. *In the DVD commentary to "This Little Piggy," the producers commented that exchanging brains is a common trope in television shows. Another, changing the main characters into children, was used in "Kid Stuff." *Michael Rosenbaum, who voices The Flash, plays the young Lex Luthor on Smallville. *This episode features one of the DCAU's very few suggestions of sexual activity, when Tala tells Flash (as Luthor) that he needs to relax, then pulls him behind a closed door, and he is heard remarking "Hey... that's not restful." Powers Luthor-as-Flash seems very comfortable with Flash's powers. He displays several abilities deriving from speed that Flash had never used. Among them: *Brandishing his fingers as a gun and threatening to vibrate them through someone's head *Using vibrations to set up an unstable resonance in a bay door, causing it to collapse *Using his fists to create an uncomfortable resonance in Dr. Fate's helmet These abilities are not often exhibited for several reasons. As remarked by Green Lantern, setting up the resonance in the door was very dangerous, hence why Flash never performed it. Threatening to scramble someone's brains with your fingers is simply not superhero-esque, and overall, Flash seems to prefer non-violent methods of disabling his enemies as opposed to hitting them really, really fast. Green Lantern power rings traditionally cannot affect things that are colored yellow directly. In one scene, Flash is in the cafeteria tossing objects at Red Tornado and Green Lantern. Lantern is well-protected by his power ring, until Flash tosses a bowl of yellow jello at him. The jello easily penetrates the shield and smacks Lantern in the face, humorously. At one point while Luthor is trapped in a bathroom, he remarks that at the very least he can finally know the Flash's secret identity. However, after removing the mask, he realizes that he has no idea whose face he's looking at in the bathroom mirror. Cast Uncredited Appearances Quotes Footnotes Great Brain Robbery, The